Gender Wage Gap

South Korea’s gender wage gap is the widest among the world's advanced countries according to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). Despite its high rate of university educated women, the wage gap between men and women has remained vitually unchanged over the past decade. In a report issued in 2014, based on 2012 data, South Korea's wage gap by gender is 37.4%. The country's Glass Ceiling Index score is also among the lowest of the OECD countries.

The labour force participation rate of women in their twenties is actually higher than that of men in that age group. However, the rate changes for women in their 30's compared to their male contemporaries. Here it lags at 60% that of the rate for men indicating that childbirth and childcare duties are still taking women out of the workforce. Moreover, fewer Korean women are able to advance into decision-making positions than their sisters in other countries.

While the gender gap is worse for women in Nepal, Pakistan, Syria and Yeman, those in Azerbaijan, Japan, Kenya, Senegal and Zimbabwe fare better than Korean women in the workplace. In 2009, the gender-income gap in South Korea was 38.9%, the largest among the 27 countries at the top of the world's economy. Japan was the second highest at 28.3% (a full 10 percentage points lower than South Korea).

Korean women enjoy the similar legal and consitutional rights as women in other advanced nations. Social pressure from parents and peers to conform to traditional roles and expectations are why things have changed little even in the 21st century despite the perception that gender equality has grown in recent years.

K4E Editor: Korea4Expats.com tries to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and complete, so should you notice any errors or omissions in the content above please contact us at info@korea4expats.com.